The Highest Court Decides Full Snap Food Benefits Can Be Put on Hold.

America's top court has issued an urgent ruling that temporarily allows the federal government to delay billions in funding for food benefits used by countless needy U.S. residents.

Administration officials appealed to the country's highest court after a federal judge ordered that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, called food stamps, should be distributed in full to beneficiaries by the end of the week.

The programme has been caught in uncertainty by the continuing budget impasse, with the Trump administration arguing it could only afford to partially fund it.

Friday's ruling means £3.04bn can be temporarily withheld pending further legal hearings.

SNAP's Reach

This nutrition aid is used by tens of millions of U.S. citizens - around one in eight - and requires almost £6.9bn a each month.

Earlier this week, a Rhode Island judge, John McConnell, accused the government of blocking nutrition funds "due to political motives" and said that without the assistance "16 million children are in danger of going hungry".

He ordered the administration to fund the programme completely.

Court Proceedings

The Thursday ruling followed another that ordered the administration to use reserve money to at least partly pay for the assistance for last month.

This court battle was triggered after the US Department of Agriculture, which manages the Snap programme, stated benefits would be halted in the fall due to the lack of funding over the shutdown.

Before the Supreme Court stepped in, the USDA said it was working to comply with the multiple rulings and was taking steps to doll out the full funds.

Supreme Court Action

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson issued the stay on Friday evening, known as an administrative stay, effectively freezing the lower court's ruling for two days while government lawyer's seek to overturn it.

The row over food aid funding has become among the most contentious of what is now the longest government shutdown in American history.

Broader Impact

Government workers have been unpaid for more than a month and flight operations has been disrupted as Democratic and Republican lawmakers cannot reach a deal to pass a budget.

Some states have drawn on their own financial reserves to keep Snap payments going, which are valued at around $6 to users via electronic benefit cards which can be redeemed in food markets.

However, certain states have said they are unable to replace the money which has been cut by the U.S. treasury.